Super Bowl champion Giants welcomed home to New Jersey by proud fans

Super Bowl Champion New York Giants land at Newark AirportA day after winning Super Bowl XLVI the New York Giants returned home to Newark Liberty International Airport, where a throng of Giants fans, most of them airport employees, gathered to welcome the returning champions on February 6, 2012.

The plane carrying the Super Bowl champions back to New Jersey was 30 minutes away, but Wes St. Jean wasn’t waiting to celebrate.

The 26-year-old Giants fan, who claims to stand 6 feet 5 inches tall and 375 pounds, started screaming "We own Brady," deriding the New England Patriots superstar quarterback with a booming voice that rivaled the jet engines ripping by above him.

Moments later, with a surprising amount of grace for his towering frame, St. Jean broke into a Victor Cruz salsa dance, grooving to the delight of dozens of fans and police officers lining the tarmac at Newark Liberty International Airport.

"This is the best day at work I could ask for. I’m loving it," he said. "It’s like New Year’s, Christmas and Kwanzaa all rolled into one."

After a tension-filled Super Bowl that left many covering their eyes when Tom Brady launched an all-or-nothing heave on the game’s final play, the Giants and their fans partied from Newark to East Rutherford today as "Big Blue" returned to New Jersey with a fourth Super Bowl trophy in tow.

"It’s worth every stress. It’s worth every headache … You cherish this day. It may only come once in a lifetime," said Fred Harris, 55, of Irvington.

The Giants touched down in Newark at 2 p.m., exiting their plane to the cheers of nearly a hundred United Airlines, Port Authority and the airport employees. The assembled fans were given a quick break from work to watch the "G-Men" return home.

For fans like Adam Powell, it was a good reason to come to the office this morning.

"We partied like crazy last night, almost didn’t go to work today," said Powell, 37, a supervisor for the Port Authority’s auto shop. "Good thing I did."

The Giants’ reactions ranged from subdued to ecstatic as they left the plane one-by-one, walking to a fleet of buses that would take them to MetLife Stadium. Defensive end Justin Tuck paused to give the fans a quick salute. Normally stoic head coach Tom Coughlin flashed a wide smile and waved. Running back Brandon Jacobs simply raised his arms in victory.

And then there was Cruz, pumping his fist as the crowd broke out into the elongated "Cruuuuuz" call that erupts every time the electric wideout from Paterson makes a catch.

A short time later, 300 fans gathered outside the Timex Performance Center at the Meadowlands to greet the Giants as they returned to their cars, headed for home and likely a nap. The crowd roared and shoved against a black iron fence as the team arrived, hoping to catch a glimpse of their Super Bowl heroes and exchange high-fives with players, including star wideout Hakeem Nicks.

"They’re like an extended family," said Caroline Paskas, 48, of North Arlington, who was among the first to arrive at the Meadowlands today.

"I see them more than my own family," said Lauren Richardson, a 21-year-old Paramus resident who became fast friends with Paskas and others as they waited for the Giants to arrive.

For these Big-Blue believers, the victory is no fleeting moment. The party started Friday, and will last until next season, as one fan put it.

Ruben Green, a 43-year-old man in a red and blue cape, was at the center of it all. His outfit — a football helmet, Giants Jersey and team logo shorts — made him a celebrity among fellow fans, some of whom paused for pictures.

"I have two dresser drawers full of Giants stuff. Can’t wear it all; I’d end up looking like the kid from ‘A Christmas Story,’" said the Clifton resident.

Green said Sunday’s win was more significant that Big Blue’s miraculous 2007 run to the title because it may finally earn them respect as a consistent contender.

"We’re always the underdogs," he said. "We’re like the Rodney Dangerfield of football teams. We get no respect. It kills me."

Will the Giants get respect now? Ask 38-year-old Joseph Burns, who woke up and traveled to a tattoo parlor to add "XLVI" to his Giants ink.